The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

    Survivors in Ogden targeted for fraud, burglary

    _Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the version printed in Wednesday’s paper._

    Two elderly residents from Ogden, a town 16 miles east of Champaign, reported being targeted in a fraudulent fundraiser for Shriners Hospitals for Children on Aug. 24.

    Both had recently lost someone close to them, and each had obituaries printed earlier that week.

    Two gentlemen arrived at their houses in a gray or light-colored car. While the driver remained in the car, the passenger identified himself as Scott, a student at the University selling books and magazines for the hospital. The victims described him as a 6-foot-tall, slender male in his early 20s.

    “There may be (other) victims out there who ordered books or magazines for the hospital,” said Dan Walsh, Champaign County sheriff.

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    In one of the instances, the man was invited into the survivor’s home, where he took one of two $100 bills that had been donated on behalf of the deceased.

    Upon realizing she had been robbed, the survivor canceled her order.

    According to Walsh, the man who called himself Scott said he lived in their town and knew the deceased, but the victims did not recognize him.

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